1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method for supplying electric power, an apparatus and a method for receiving electric power, a storage medium and a program, and more particularly to a system, apparatus and method for supplying electric power, an apparatus and a method for receiving electric power, a storage medium and a program, that allow it to supply electric power to an electric power reception apparatus in an easy and efficient manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many electronic devices such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) device or a digital portable telephone, a battery is charged such by supplying electric power to the battery from an AC adapter connected via a plug to an AC power source. That is, electric power is supplied to a battery of an electronic device from a power source via a power supply cable.
It has been proposed to wirelessly supply electric power to an electronic device from an electric power supply apparatus without using a power supply cable. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-133476 discloses a technique of supplying electric power by electromagnetically inducing a current in an electromagnetic induction coil of a power receiver system from an electromagnetic induction coil of a master system.
In a technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-224937, an electric power supply apparatus has a plurality of electric power supply coils. The electric power supply apparatus sequentially selects one of electric power supply coils and passes a current through the selected coil. In an electric power reception apparatus placed on a placement surface of the electric power supply apparatus, one electric power reception coil and one identification tag coil receive an electromagnetic wave generated by the electric power supply coil, and electromotive force is induced in the electric power reception coil and the identification tag coil. In response, an ID is transmitted from the identification tag coil to the electric power supply apparatus. If the electric power supply apparatus receives the ID, the electric power supply apparatus stores the ID together with the index of the electric power supply coil that are being used. In the following operation, passing of the current through the electric power supply coil is controlled in accordance with the stored information.